Thursday, November 15, 2012

Parents in All districts Should Stay Informed on Education Legislation

Many parents are not involved in the pipeline of bills in the Michigan Legislature and this includes the topic of legislation. In Farmington Public Schools, the status quo is not being accepted and for them, it is a lesson for parents in all districts to take heed. The story below talks about some key issues and a video for finding out more in specifics.

Parents urged to keep informed on proposed school legislation

Nov. 11, 2012

Priscilla O'Neill says she's surprised and concerned about
proposed legislation that could put even more funding for K-12 education
into private hands and change who regulates schools.

“The fact
that for profit schools are receiving and have the capability of
receiving funds that should go to public schools, I'm very concerned
about that,” said O'Neill of Farmington Hills, and a parent of a
10th-grader at Harrison High School.

O'Neill said she's also
concerned about legislation that would give “the opportunity for others
to take over schools, and the people don't have to be regulated.

“There
should be more regulation for those people because they are dealing
with children, the most vulnerable elements of our society,” she said.
“We need to protect our children.”

Keeping informed

O'Neill
was one of the parents who attended “School Funding: The Good, the Bad
and the Ugly,” at Harrison High School in Farmington Hills Thursday
evening.

The free forum was sponsored by the Farmington PTA
Council and Farmington Public Schools and hosted by Farmington, Livonia,
and Walled Lake PTA Councils. It was designed to keep parents informed
about the current and future state of critical funding for public
schools.

Debbie Squires, associate director, Michigan
Elementary/Middle School Principals Association, and past Michigan PTA
president, was the speaker. She noted that she's also an alum of
Harrison.

Squires talked about the many ways that the school aid fund is being impacted.

She said legislation that may not have anything to do with schools can impact it.

But so can the voice of people, she said.

For instance, Lansing is currently trying to get rid of the personal property tax.

“The
only thing that has stopped it is that people like you have said ... no
more taking money out of the general fund without funding a replacement
for it,” she said.

She said there are three bills concerning
schools that are currently of concern. They are coming up in the “lame
duck” session, when “deals that get made that would never get made in a
regular session.” The bills are:

SB620: It would allow a
failing school to be converted to a charter school if a petition is
submitted by at least 60 percent of parents or 51 percent of parents and
60 percent of teachers. It disenfranchises voters, she said.

“If
parents or teachers decide to take over Harrison High School, it
doesn't say that they have to be residents,” she said. “Those that paid
to have it built have no voice. That's a problem as we see it.”

SB1358: This bill would give the Education Achievement Authority, which
oversees Detroit's lowest performing schools and will expand statewide,
broad powers to authorize charter schools.
HB5923 allows for several new forms of charter and online schools, “so a
company down the street could decide to start a school and be totally
funded by school fund dollars.”

It allows for selective enrollment admission policies.

“This is a scary bill,” she said.

Another
concern in public education is that the nonprofit Oxford Foundation of
Michigan, founded in 1991 by former governor John Engler, has been
charged with rewriting the state's education funding law.

The group is not required to hold open meetings.

The
project is based on Gov. Rick Snyder's Education Message Proposals that
include: a new — any time, any place, any way, any pace public school
learning model; performance-based funding rather than seat time
requirements; and that the state foundation allowance should not be
exclusively tied to the school district a child attends. Instead,
funding needs to follow the student.

Stay informed

Squires urged people to stay informed and voice their concerns to legislators.

“It's up to you to make a difference in the process as it moves forward,” she said.

She said that legislators do listen, whether a concern is voiced in person, or by call, letter or e-mail.

She said that it can be scary to call a legislator, but most of the time they'll be talking to a staff member.

“If by some chance you get to talk to the legislator they don't expect you to be an expert,” she said.